Carlos Slim backs KPN plan but steers clear of a takeover offer February 21, 2013 CARLOS Slim, the world’s richest man, has backed KPN’s plan to raise €4bn (£3.49bn) and will take two board seats as he battles to turn around a losing investment in the Dutch telecommunications group. However, the Mexican telecoms tycoon, whose America Movil owns just under 30 per cent of KPN, said he has no plans [...]
Dulux maker AkzoNobel says it plans to slash its costs quicker February 21, 2013 THE NEW chief executive of Dutch paints and chemicals group AkzoNobel said yesterday it plans to speed up cost-cutting and focus on improving returns and cash generation over the next three years. The firm, best known for its Dulux brand, is aiming for a return on sales of nine per cent, return on investment of [...]
Rathbones stays the course despite dip in fund growth February 21, 2013 UPMARKET wealth manager Rathbone Brothers yesterday said people withdrawing funds to maintain their standard of living had contributed to a small fall in organic fund growth last year. Despite posting a solid 13 per cent increase in funds managed up to £18bn and adding 1,100 more clients, money leaving the group’s investment funds increased from [...]
PZ Cussons sells Polish brands February 21, 2013 PZ Cussons is to sell its Polish home care brands to German consumer good giant Henkel for £46.6m in cash, the group announced yesterday. The deal, which includes the sale of laundry detergent and washing up liquid, is still subject to merger control clearances and is expected to be completed in the next six months. [...]
Regus raises its offer for MWB February 21, 2013 Regus, the office space supplier, has raised its offer to acquire MWB Business Exchange to £65.6m, outbidding Hong Kong billionaire investor Anson Chan, who made an offer of £65m last week. Regus, which wants to expand its portfolio to new locations through MWB’s business centres, had previously made an offer of £40m. Pyrrho, which already [...]
Vicky Pryce jury dismissed February 21, 2013 Economist Vicky Pryce faces a retrial for allegedly helping her ex-husband Chris Huhne dodge a driving ban, after a jury failed to reach a verdict yesterday. The judge attacked the jury’s “fundamental deficit in understanding” of the trial process and scheduled a new hearing on Monday. Huhne, a former cabinet minister, pleaded guilty to perverting the [...]
City Moves for 21 February 2013 | Who’s switching jobs February 21, 2013 Jones Lang LaSalle The real estate services firm has announced the appointment of James Dolphin as lead director for international retail to support its cross-border expansion. Before joining the firm as a national director in 2005, Dolphin was an associate partner at Blair Kirkman. Societe General Zak de Mariveles will join the bank’s corporate and [...]
Best of the Brokers February 21, 2013 BARCLAYS Goldman Sachs yesterday removed the bank from its pan-European buy list and downgraded it to a “neutral” rating, with a 12-month target price of 340p, down from 350p. The broker thinks Barclays’ latest operational targets contain a significant execution risk, and leave the bank with the lowest medium-term return on equity target of its [...]
FTSE surges to highest level in over five years February 21, 2013 THE FTSE 100 benchmark equity index edged up yesterday to touch fresh five-year highs but its failure to close above a key technical level led some traders to expect a minor, near-term sell-off. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up 0.3 per cent, or 16.30 points higher, at 6,395.37 points – its highest level since [...]
Wall St drops as Fed minutes spark concern February 21, 2013 US stocks fell the most in three months and a key gauge of market volatility spiked yesterday after minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting suggested the central bank may slow or stop buying bonds sooner than expected. The minutes from the Fed’s January meeting showed many officials voiced concern last month over [...]
